The Sarah Hazard Nomer Museum
The Sarah Hazard Nomer Museum opened in 1990 in the House-by-the-Side-of-the-Road at Camp Hoffman in West Kingston, RI. Mrs. Nomer and her daughter participated in Girl Scouts in New York and Rhode Island. It is at this museum in Nomer's name that people may learn about the beginnings of Girl Scouting in Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts.
A Museum Committee was formed and tasked with the management of the collections and the archive. Among the collections are vintage uniforms, camp memorabilia, and a medal awarded to Kit Hammett by the Greek government.
You may take a guided tour of the Sarah Hazard Nomer Museum and discover the roots of local Girl Scouting through the photos and memorabilia on display. While touring the museum, you may also complete the Sarah Hazard Nomer Museum patch program. To schedule a tour (plan 30 minutes for each group of 10 or fewer), please complete the form below.
GSSNE Museum Tour Request 
Council History
In 2012, the Girl Scout Movement celebrated its 100th anniversary. That means over 100 years of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place! Here at Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England, we have a rich and vibrant history all our own which began in 1914.
1914-1919
- 1914: The first Girl Scout troop in Rhode Island began meeting at Darlington Congregational Church in Pawtucket, led by Elizabeth Ann Bury, a nurse at Memorial Hospital. Within three years, troops were organized in Providence, Woonsocket, Barrington and Westerly, open to all girls from ages 10 to 17.
- 1917: The Red Clover Troop of Newport became the first in the state to register officially with the national organization. The first girl to be pinned in Troop 1 was 15-year-old Catherine “Kit” Hammett.
- 1919: Girl Scouts of Rhode Island was chartered by the national organization and incorporated in Rhode Island to coordinate local efforts, organize troops in new areas, train leaders and provide camping opportunities. Each city or town established its own council.
1920-1928
- 1920: Prudence Island became the site of GSRI’s first resident camp. Legend has it that the next year, Mira Hoffman of Barrington, the woman who became commissioner of the new state council, drove around the state until she found property that would make a more suitable camp for the girls. The mother of two sons – and no daughters – was instrumental in the purchase of a former farm of 23 acres on Larkin Pond in West Kingston now known as Camp Hoffman.
- 1921: Camp Hoffman opened. Girls were instructed to pack, among other things, bloomers and semaphore flags! A week of camping cost $2.
- 1923: The first RI Brownie pack met in Newport. Edith Ballinger Price, who became its leader, went on to become national chairwoman of the Brownies from 1925–1932. Though still in her 20s she became known as the “Great Brown Owl.” The prolific author and illustrator wrote the first Brownie handbook. Her work appeared in Girl Scout magazines for 40 years.
- 1927: Treasure Chest is designed by Marie Gaudette and built at Camp Hoffman.
- 1928: Mira Hoffman was named the fifth national president of Girl Scouts of the USA.
1934-1936
- 1934: Mariner Scouts, which originated in RI, were introduced at a Girl Scout convention in Boston. Kit Hammett is credited with pioneering the program, which went national. She joined the national staff two years later, at age 34.
- 1936: GSRI headquarters are at 227 Benefit Street in Providence, which also houses the School of Homemaking.
1944-1945
1953-1956
1962-1968
1973-1976
1980-1989
1990-1998
2000-2017
2011-2021
Special thanks to volunteers Judy Lonardo and Cyndi Harney of the GSSNE Museum Committee for assembling the content of this page.
